Soma Book Station

If you are reading about Soma Book Station, congratulations on somehow spending time in Prishtina without already ending up there. It is arguably the city's default meeting point: equally suited to an after-work drink, a work dinner, or taking an out-of-towner somewhere cool.

Inside, the mood is all exposed brick, dark wood, warm lighting and a large central bar which serves as the room's natural orbit. There is food, good cocktails, a generous outdoor area, and Sabaja, the first and only locally brewed Kosovo IPA that is surprisingly hard to find elsewhere.

Warning: Fridays and Saturdays are a different species altogether. Tables become largely theoretical. You grab a drink at the bar or catch a passing waiter (if you're lucky), and join the standing crowd where mingling is essentially the seating plan. On particularly busy nights, even getting through the door can involve a short wait.